Purdue Global professor Melissa Bahle welcomed a new teaching assistant to her composition classes this spring, helping field questions and providing answers while she is leading online classes. The assistant’s name: Purdue Global Learning Assistant (PGLA), a new conversational AI tool designed to help students navigate and understand course resources and policies. Bahle is a professor in Purdue Global’s Department of English and Rhetoric who teaches two sections of CM 107 (College Composition I), each with 28 students enrolled. “I think PGLA is a wonderful addition to the class,” she said. “I have noticed fewer course navigation questions. So far, PGLA seems to work well for questions related to finding materials in the course, providing information and links about APA formatting, and helping students connect with the Academic Success Center.”
